Some background ... I'm not really sure at this time what my specific interests are. I have strong interests in constitutional law, so appellate litigation, federal government, and careers in academia are likely pursuits. I have a strong professional corporate background and some interest in venture capital. I am also interested in sports law. Generally, I feel I should base my choice off of where I can get the most well-rounded legal education. Considering my interests in academia and the federal judicial system, the opportunities to make law review and get a federal clerkship (ideally USSC) are highly valued. The "prestige" factor is big, and I feel like Columbia might have a slight advantage outside NYC and the corporate arena (i.e. public service, academia); I just can't seem to discern how much of an advantage it really is and how much that matters today.

My NYU scholarship is $25k/25k/15k with an additional $10k available in the third year based on summer income. The CLS grant is $16k/16k/8k. Based on my assessment of costs comparisons, CLS will result in debt at graduation of about $45k more.

I attended both ASD programs during the week of March 28 and came away at the time with a few impressions of each, but would really like you guys' input regarding the general benefits of each and what factors may make the difference of $50k worthwhile.

I definitely acknowledge both are great schools, and appreciate your input.

Last edited by mwdeav on Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Go with Columbia. The ultra prestigious NYC firms seem to hire disproportionately from Columbia. You also have a slightly better shot at making law review at Columbia given that its membership is proportionally larger than NYU's.

PS -Gunning for USSC clerkship as a 0L is kind of ridiculous. Especially when you didn't get HYS.

Last edited by bdubs on Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

If you're USSC material you'll have no trouble getting there from either school, and less debt will be your friend when you're earning a clerk's salary. I don't see CLS being worth $45k more than NYU, though I am biased.

As far as clerkships and academia go, CLS isn't that much better than NYU (their numbers are both pretty dismal in that arena) and certainly not $35k more than NYU. Yes it does appear that CLS gives you a slight boost in NYC big law and getting into the ultra-prestigious firms, but neither of them are going to help you get there unless you are at the tippy top of your class. Basically the top 10 students from CLS might have the opportunities you are looking for vs. the top 5 at NYU, but the odds you you being in either category are so small you might as well save the $35k and go to NYU...Columbia's prestige is just not that much better. If it were HYS vs. NYU that would be one thing, but CLS is just not that much better prestige wise and they are equal in terms of quality of education.

I might be a little biased as I chose NYU over CLS when NYU was only offering me $25k more, but I still think NYU is TCR here.

mwdeav wrote:Some background ... I'm not really sure at this time what my specific interests are. I have strong interests in constitutional law, so appellate litigation, federal government, and careers in academia are likely pursuits. I have a strong professional corporate background and some interest in venture capital. I am also interested in sports law.

If you actually have some idea of what you'd like to do it would make this a lot easier.

You have basically no idea what you want to do, but you know that it will be elite, and you're worried about your Supreme Court clerkship before you've enrolled. If ever there was a match made in heaven, it's you and CLS.

You have no clue what you want. Take the extra 35K. Thats 2 years of downtown NYC living expenses covered before you even start. The two schools are too similar to not go with the money here. I'm very much about justifying marginal expenses. You have already gotten into 2 baseline amazing schools. But since they are similar, you shouldn't toss away extra money unless you have a concrete reason. You sound like you don't know what you really want at this point. Pocket those extra 35K and get yourself a sweet living setup.

The "prestige" factor is big, and I feel like Columbia might have a slight advantage outside NYC and the corporate arena (i.e. public service, academia); I just can't seem to discern how much of an advantage it really is and how much that matters today.

Despite all the sound and fury regarding the issue, nobody can discern this. For instance, all things being equal, I think CLS attracts a group of students that is, on balance, slightly more oriented toward pursuing ultra-prestigious goals, while NYU attracts a group of students that is, on balance, slightly more interested in doing, for instance, legal services type work. So when CLS graduates end up slightly better represented in certain arenas, is it due to some strength of the institution? Who knows? Some people will pooh-pooh the "self selection" theory as just reflecting some NYU insecurity, and perhaps it is, I don't know. But nobody can refute the self selection idea, either, and the schools' stats are really close enough that it's a valid possibility.

There are a couple of things you can know, however. One is your personal feeling about each school – some amalgamation of your best guess as to whether CLS and NYU actually yield different opportunities, along with the neighborhood, the buildings, the housing, the faculty, the course offerings, the clinical opportunities, the institutional feel, the student body, and, for what it's worth, the fact that you will have this school's name on your resume for the rest of your life. Two is the money differential.

Renzo wrote:You have basically no idea what you want to do, but you know that it will be elite, and you're worried about your Supreme Court clerkship before you've enrolled. If ever there was a match made in heaven, it's you and CLS.